Memorandum
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Amazon May Replace 500k Workers With Robots

Amazon May Replace 500k Workers With Robots

OpenAI targets junior bankers’ tasks, Coinbase expands into tokenized securities, and Europe drafts 12-point plan to end Russia’s war.

Memorandum
October 22, 2025

Welcome back to your daily memorandum talking tech, business, AI, markets, and more. 🗞️

In today’s edition, we are tackling the following:

🤖 Amazon plans to automate 75% of operations by 2033, cutting costs by $12.6B.
💼 OpenAI’s Project Mercury aims to replace analyst grunt work with AI-trained.
🪙 Coinbase acquires Echo for $375M to expand into blockchain-native securities.
🌍 Europe and Ukraine outline a 12-point peace proposal freezing the war along the battle lines.
📱 Apple’s M5 iPad Pro debuts with 3.5× faster AI performance and Wi-Fi 7 support.

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TECHNOLOGY

OpenAI Launches Atlas AI Web Browser (Axios)
_^More:_^Bloomberg_^,_^TechCrunch_^,_{^{CBS News}}
- OpenAI launched ChatGPT Atlas browser with a built-in AI sidebar and agent mode for Mac users worldwide.
- Browser features automatic page context, memory of browsing history, and autonomous task completion for paid subscribers.
- Agent mode can book travel and handle tasks, but requires user oversight for sensitive actions like banking.
Apple iPad Pro 2025 Review (The Verge)
_^More:_^MacRumors_^,_{^{Geek Culture}}_^,_{^{Cult of Mac}}
- Apple's M5 iPad Pro delivers three point five times faster AI performance with improved neural engine efficiency.
- New features include one hundred twenty hertz external display support, fifty percent faster charging, and Wi-Fi seven.
- Starting at nine hundred ninety-nine dollars for the eleven-inch model, available October 22nd with iPadOS 26.
Aura Introduces $499 E Ink Digital Photo Frame (TechCrunch)
_^More:_^Engadget_^,_^PetaPixel_^,_^TechRadar
- Aura launched $499 Carver e-ink digital photo frame with a six-month battery life, cordlessly.
- The thirteen-inch display updates photos once daily via Wi-Fi with a companion app for managing unlimited uploads.
- E-ink technology eliminates screen glare and provides a paper-like viewing experience without requiring a constant power connection.
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BUSINESS

Coinbase Buys Investment Platform Echo in $375 Million Deal (Bloomberg)
_^More:_^WSJ_^,_^CoinDesk_^,_{^{The Block}}
- Coinbase acquired onchain capital platform Echo for $375 million in cash and stock, its eighth deal this year.
- Echo has facilitated over $200 million in fundraising across 300 projects since launch using blockchain-native token sales.
- The Sonar public token sale product will integrate into Coinbase, expanding beyond crypto into tokenized securities eventually.
Anthropic CEO disputes Trump AI czar David Sacks' claims that the company is 'woke' (CNBC)
_^More:_^TechCrunch_^,_{^{404 Media}}_^,_{^{Cryptopolitan}}
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei refuted accusations from Trump's AI czar, David Sacks claiming the company promotes woke AI.
- The dispute centers on Anthropic's support for California's transparency bill and opposition to federal AI regulation preemption.
- Amodei stated the company shares the Trump administration's goal of ensuring American AI leadership and benefiting the public.
Google Fi Wireless adds AI features for clearer calls and bill summaries (Google)
_^More:_^TechCrunch_^,_^9to5Google_^,_{^{Android Authority}}
- Google Fi introduces AI-enhanced audio filtering for calls and AI-powered bill summaries explaining charges and changes.
- RCS support arrives for web messaging in December, enabling high-resolution photo and video sharing across devices.
- Wi-Fi Auto Connect+ expands to millions of locations, including major airports, with HD calling rolling out next month.

MARKETS

S&P	6,735.13	+1.10%
NASDAQ	22,990.54	+1.40%
Dow	46,706.58	+1.10%
10-Year	3.98%	↓ ~0.02 pp
Bitcoin	$108,468	–2.16%
Gold	$4,143.90	–5.70%

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WORLD

5 things to know about Sanae Takaichi, Japan's first female prime minister (NPR)
_^More:_^BBC_^,_{^{The Guardian}}_^,_{^{NBC News}}
- Japan's parliament elected ultraconservative Sanae Takaichi as the first female prime minister after the LDP allied with a right-wing party.
- Takaichi served under late PM Shinzo Abe, advocates traditional gender roles, and maintains hardline immigration and China policies.
- Despite promises of Nordic-level female cabinet representation, she appointed only two women to her new cabinet.
Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy starts a five-year jail term (Al Jazeera)
_^More:_^CNN_^,_^PBS_^,_{^{NBC News}}
- Nicolas Sarkozy began serving a five-year sentence at Paris's La Santé prison for criminal conspiracy in a Libyan financing case.
- He becomes the first modern French president to be imprisoned, convicted of accepting millions from Gaddafi's regime for the 2007 campaign.
- Sarkozy maintains innocence and appeals while his lawyers request early release from solitary confinement at a notorious facility.
Europe and Ukraine Prepare 12-Point Proposal to End Russia's War (Bloomberg)
_^More:_^Reuters_^,_^Newsweek_^,_{^{Kyiv Post}}
- European nations and Ukraine developed a 12-point peace proposal to freeze the Russian war along the current battle lines.
- Plan includes Trump-chaired peace board, security guarantees for Ukraine, reconstruction funds, and a pathway to EU membership.
- Russian sanctions would lift gradually if Moscow contributes to reconstruction, with $300 billion frozen reserves at stake.

FUTURISM

Amazon is reportedly about to replace half a million human workers with robots (Robotics and Automation News)
_^More:_^NYT_^,_^TechSpot_^,_{^{Cord Cutters News}}
- Internal documents reveal Amazon plans to automate seventy-five percent of operations by 2033, potentially eliminating 600,000 jobs.
- The company expects to save thirty cents per item warehoused and delivered, totaling $12.6 billion in cost reductions.
- Amazon avoids terms like AI and automation publicly, preferring advanced technology and cobots to minimize backlash concerns.
OpenAI Looks to Replace the Drudgery of Junior Bankers' Workload (Bloomberg)
_^More:_^Fortune_^,_{^Entrepreneur}_^,_{^Storyboard18}
- OpenAI hired over 100 former investment bankers for Project Mercury, paying $150 hourly to train AI models.
- The secretive initiative targets automating financial modeling and grunt work performed by junior analysts at major banks.
- Former employees from JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley build models for restructurings and IPOs using AI.
a16z-backed Codi launches AI agent office manager (TechCrunch)
^_More:^_TechCrunch
- Andreessen Horowitz-backed Codi launched an AI platform to fully automate office management tasks, saving hundreds of hours.
- The startup pivoted from flexible office marketplace to AI SaaS, reaching $100,000 ARR within five weeks of beta.
- Platform coordinates vendors autonomously for pantry restocking and cleaning, costing a fraction of traditional office manager salaries.

CONTENT

Expert Advice from YC Partners: AI GTM, Pivoting, Hiring
(Y Combinator)
- YC partners Pete, Brad, Nico, and Gustaf answer founders’ toughest questions on building and scaling AI startups.
- They share frameworks for deciding when to pivot, how to approach hiring, and when to open-source enterprise tools.
- The discussion highlights balancing speed, defensibility, and conviction while navigating AI’s rapidly evolving landscape.
Is Amazon Losing Its Edge? What the AWS Outage Means for the Cloud Wars (The Prof G Pod – Scott Galloway)
- Scott Galloway’s team examines how Amazon’s AWS outage exposes weaknesses in its dominance of the cloud market.
- Ed Elson interviews Evercore’s Mark Mahaney on investor sentiment and Peterson Institute’s Maurice Obstfeld on tariff impacts.
- The episode dissects Amazon’s long-term positioning against Microsoft and Google in the intensifying cloud wars.
5 AI Tools I’d Use to Make $1M (My First Million & Greg Isenberg)
- Greg Isenberg and Sam Parr reveal five underrated AI tools that could generate $1M solo with minimal resources.
- They explore real use cases for Enhancer.ai, Comet, Wispr Flow, Shortcut AI, and Reel.Farm to automate entire businesses.
- The conversation shows how founders can use AI to create, scale, and market products without traditional teams or capital.

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